• Research by BiGDUG reveals FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) could be a thing of the past: 4.8 million have enjoyed not feeling the pressure to socialise during lockdown
• 7.5 million (14%) Brits are secretly HAPPY to miss work socials
• 670,000 relationships saved as Brits shelve plans to be unfaithful to their partner
FOMO is No Mo’
The research reveals that FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) could now be a thing of the past, as 4.8m Brits admit they’ve actually enjoyed not being pressured to socialise with their friends this year.
No longer breaking a sweat on future plans – 4.5m Brits are happily avoiding weddings, 3.6m have avoided taking exams and 3.4m are breathing a sigh of relief that they aren’t going on holiday with friends they secretly don’t like. That’s not mentioning the 7.5m (14%) who’ve been thrilled to avoid ‘forced fun’ such as drinks and social occasions with colleagues.
But for those who haven’t wanted to miss out completely, a whopping one fifth of the nation have still attended a birthday party or get-together on Zoom or FaceTime as cancelled events have moved to the virtual space.
Love Lives on the Shelf
There’s also great news for relationships - 670,000 people have confessed to shelving plans to be unfaithful to their partner, saving thousands of relationships up and down the country!
On the flipside, the research reveals that 3.2 million Brits have shelved the big move-in with their partner and one in 20 Brits (5%) have put their plans for a wedding on hold. The wedding woes don’t stop there; 22% of engaged Brits have postponed their wedding by up to 9 months, with another 22% of engaged couples postponing their big day by one to two years.
For those who were expecting a diamond, they may have to wait a while longer as 9% of Brits reveal they’ve shelved plans to get engaged. The distance between singledom and the big day is even further away for the 8% of single Brits who have put plans for a new relationship off due to COVID.
Rest & Recuperate
The pandemic has had some benefit though, as the survey reveals that 35% of Brits have managed to save money, with three in 10 also enjoying more leisure time to kick back and relax. That’s not all – nearly a third (29%) of people have been enjoying spending more quality time at home with family.
There have been more monetary benefits too – with over one in 10 (11%) Brits saving from £501-£1,000 due to shelved plans. In fact, 8% of Brits have also shelved plans to buy their own home, leaving room to save that little bit more.
The research also shows that major milestones are being given some breathing room, as the average Brit’s life plan has been pushed back by 5 months. More Brits are looking to stick to what they know too, as 1 in 10 (10%) are staying in their current job, instead of moving on.
Not everyone has been recuperating, however; a shocking 1.1 million have attended an illegal rave and 2.8 million people across the nation have ignored guidelines to attend a forbidden party thus far.
Luke Cameron, Marketing Manager at BiGDUG said: “As shelving and storage specialists, we wanted to find out just how much of our lives have been ‘put on the shelf’ after nearly 6 months of lockdown in the UK. Whilst there has been a lot of major life moments put on hold, it’s not all doom and gloom – thankfully, ‘FOMO’ is a thing of the past at long last and we’re finally getting to properly enjoy our ‘me time’, without the constant pressure to keep busy and on the move.”
